Hurricane Paloma

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Hurricane Paloma was well-formed, with distinctive spirals and a clear
eye on November 7, 2008, when the GOES satellite captured this image. The
storm formed off the coast of Nicaragua on November 5, and became a
hurricane the next day. When GOES captured this image, Paloma was moving
steadily north-northeast at 10 kilometers per hour (6 miles per hour) on
course towards Cuba. As it moved over the warm waters of the Caribbean, it
strengthened. At 1:00 Eastern Standard time, about an hour before this image
was taken, the storm had sustained winds near 150 km/hr (90 mph) with
stronger gusts, said the National Hurricane Center. By 4:00, winds had
picked up to 165 km/hr (105 mph), making Paloma a Category 2 storm. It was
at this strength that the storm barreled into the Cayman Islands a short
time after this image was taken.

The National Hurricane Center forecast that Paloma would continue to
intensify through November 7, possibly reaching Category 3 status before
weakening on November 8. The storm was forecast to come ashore over Cuba on
November 8 and 9. The Cuban government has issued a hurricane warning to
four provinces, said the National Hurricane Center.

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This image originally appeared on the Earth Observatory. Click here to view the full, original record.